Mobile-home park owners pour money into council races

Chula Vista  Mobile-home park owners have a great deal of interest in the outcome of November’s runoff races for two Chula Vista City Council seats, based on campaign finance reports for the election season.

The Chula Vista Mobilehome Park Owners Association, which has about 10 members, has donated at least $15,000 to the Democratic Party of San Diego County to support incumbent Councilwoman Pamela Bensoussan. It also gave $10,000 to the party for former Chula Vista Councilwoman and state Assemblywoman Mary Salas, who faces Linda Wagner.

By comparison, the Chula Vista Mobilehome Residents Association has spent a fraction of that amount on Bensoussan’s and Salas’ opponents. The residents spent a total of about $4,400 on signs and mailers for Wagner and Bensoussan’s challenger, Larry Breitfelder. That is about one-fifth of the amount the mobile-home park owners have poured into the election so far.

The last two years have been contentious ones for people with a stake in mobile-home residences, as the City Council approved a new fee for mobile-home residents who want to continue receiving protection from unreasonable rent increases.

Residents are upset that what used to be a free service now costs $60 per year, and that those who don’t pay will have no protection or appeal. Park owners are upset that the city imposed rent-increase controls on them in the first place.

Even though the recipients of the specialized service initially paid for it, in 1998 the city took over the financial burden and made it free for homeowners. Last year, amid an ongoing financial crisis, the City Council opted to go back to a fee-for-service model, bringing the issue back into the forefront of public discussion.

Mobilehome Residents Association president Penny Vaughn says the money being funneled into this election could indicate that park owners plan to overturn the city’s rent-control law, which has been in place since the 1980s.

“The ones who seem to be the most politically active are the ones who do not like Chula Vista’s rent-control ordinance, and they have contributed in the neighborhood of around $30,000 to the candidates who have been more receptive to the park owners’ views as far as it concerns rent controls,” she said. “The park owners have the money to influence people. Actually they have our money, because we pay them every month.”

Salas in 2009 testified before the California State Assembly on behalf of eliminating vacancy control laws that put a cap on the amount that mobile-home park owners could increase the rent on a lot for an incoming resident.

Mobilehome Park Owners Association Treasurer Virginia Jensen, partner at Terry Enterprises, said she has heard some talk among park owners about overturning the rent controls, but that residents should not fear prices skyrocketing.

“As a park owner, you’re not going to price yourself out of business,” Jensen said. “We want these parks to continue, and no one would pay the rent if it went too high.”

The park owners’ interest in this election is to support candidates who will promote private property rights, she said. They only want the liberty to maintain and improve their parks while keeping them safe.